This excerpt is taken from the book Where Is Allah? by Shaykh Ghulām Muṣṭafā Ẓahīr Amanpūrī.
“None of the righteous predecessors ever denied that Allah rose over His Throne; rather, they declared the how of His rising to be unknown.”
“Whoever says that Allah, in His Essence, is present everywhere has opposed the Qur’an, the Sunnah, and the consensus of this Ummah and its Imams. He has also opposed the natural disposition upon which Allah created His servants, explicit rational proofs, and numerous other evidences. Such people utter contradictory statements.”
“General indwelling (the belief that Allah is everywhere) is the doctrine which the Imams of Ahl al-Sunnah and Ahl al-Ḥadīth transmitted from a group among the early Jahmiyyah. This is the belief of most of the ascetic Jahmiyyah who claim that Allah, in His Essence, is everywhere.”
“Those who have transmitted the consensus of the Salaf, or the consensus of Ahl al-Sunnah, or the consensus of the Companions and the Tābiʿīn that Allah is above the Throne, distinct from His creation, are so numerous that only Allah can count them. The scholars of the Salaf have always affirmed this distinction and refuted the Jahmiyyah who deny it.”
“Likewise, the Jahmiyyah fall into three categories:
① The worst of them are the extremist Jahmiyyah who deny Allah’s Names and Attributes. Even if they refer to Him by one of His Beautiful Names, they claim it is metaphorical. In reality, according to them, He is neither living, nor knowing, nor powerful, nor hearing, nor seeing, nor speaking, nor does He speak.
② The second category consists of those influenced by the Muʿtazilah, who affirm Allah’s Names in general but deny His Attributes. They also do not affirm all of Allah’s Names in their literal sense, instead interpreting many of them metaphorically. These are the well-known Jahmiyyah.
③ The third category consists of those who affirm Allah’s Attributes in opposition to the Jahmiyyah, yet they still retain a form of Jahmī thought. They affirm Allah’s Names and Attributes in general, but reject some of His Names and His reported (khabariyyah) and non-reported Attributes, interpreting them just as the earlier Jahmiyyah interpreted all Attributes.”
“As for the fourth category, they are the Salaf of this Ummah and its Imams—the Imams of knowledge and religion from among the scholars and worshippers. They affirmed and believed in everything that came in the Book and the Sunnah, without distorting the words. They affirmed that Allah is above His heavens, established over His Throne, distinct from His creation; and that the creation is distinct from Him.
At the same time, Allah is with His servants: with all people by His knowledge, and with His Prophets and allies by His support, assistance, and care. He is also near and responsive. In the verse of private consultation (Qur’an 58:7), there is evidence that Allah has complete knowledge of His creation.
The Prophet ﷺ used to supplicate:
اللهم أنت الصاحب في السفر والخليفة في الأهل
‘O Allah! You are the Companion during travel and the Guardian over the family.’
Allah is with the traveler during his journey and with his family in his homeland, yet this does not necessitate that His Essence is mixed with theirs. Evidence for this is the statement of Allah:
محمد رسول الله والذين معه
‘Muḥammad is the Messenger of Allah, and those who are with him…’
Meaning: those who are with him in faith.”
“The belief that Allah is above the universe is known necessarily from the Qur’an, the Sunnah, and the consensus of the Salaf after due reflection—just as the knowledge of eating and drinking in Paradise is known, the sending of the Messengers, the revelation of the Books, Allah’s knowledge of everything, His power over all things, and His creation of the heavens and the earth and whatever lies between them. Rather, it has been said that the texts regarding Allah’s exaltedness exceed two hundred places, and the narrations from the Prophet ﷺ, the Companions, and the Tābiʿīn concerning this are mutawātir and in agreement.”
“In what we have mentioned regarding belief in Allah is also belief in what Allah informed of in His Book, what is established mutawātir from His Messenger ﷺ, and what the Salaf of the Ummah unanimously agreed upon: that Allah is above His heavens, over His Throne, exalted above His creation; and that He is with the creation wherever they are, knowing what they do.
Allah combined these two matters in His statement:
هو الذي خلق السموات والأرض في ستة أيام ثم استوى على العرش يعلم ما يلج في الأرض وما يخرج منها وما ينزل من السماء وما يعرج فيها وهو معكم أينما كنتم والله بما تعملون بصير
‘He it is Who created the heavens and the earth in six days, then rose over the Throne. He knows what enters the earth and what emerges from it, what descends from the heaven and what ascends therein. And He is with you wherever you are, and Allah is All-Seeing of what you do.’
The meaning of His saying, ‘He is with you,’ is not that He is mixed with the creation, for this is neither required by the language nor consistent with the consensus of the Salaf of the Ummah or the natural disposition upon which Allah created mankind.”
“The belief that Allah is above the Throne is something upon which all the Prophets agreed. It was mentioned in every Book revealed to every Prophet sent. The Salaf of this Ummah and its Imams are also unanimously agreed upon it.”
Imams of Ahl al-Sunnah of the Seventh Century
Statement of Imām al-Qurṭubī رحمه الله (d. 671 AH)
لم ينكر أحد من السلف الصالح أنه استوى على عرشه، وإنما جهلوا كيفية الاستواء.“None of the righteous predecessors ever denied that Allah rose over His Throne; rather, they declared the how of His rising to be unknown.”
Reference: Tafsīr al-Qurṭubī 7/219
Statement of Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyyah رحمه الله (d. 728 AH)
كل من قال: إن الله بذاته في كل مكان فهو مخالف للكتاب والسنة وإجماع هذه الأمة وأيمتها، مع مخالفته لما فطر الله عليه عباده، ولصريح المعقول، وللأدلة الكثيرة، وهؤلاء يقولون أقوالا متناقضة.“Whoever says that Allah, in His Essence, is present everywhere has opposed the Qur’an, the Sunnah, and the consensus of this Ummah and its Imams. He has also opposed the natural disposition upon which Allah created His servants, explicit rational proofs, and numerous other evidences. Such people utter contradictory statements.”
Reference: Majmūʿ al-Fatāwā 5/230
On the Belief of General Indwelling (Ḥulūl ʿĀmm)
الحلول العام، وهو القول الذي ذكره أئمة أهل السنة والحديث عن طائفة من الجهمية المتقدمين، وهو قول غالب متعبدة الجهمية الذين يقولون: إن الله بذاته في كل مكان.“General indwelling (the belief that Allah is everywhere) is the doctrine which the Imams of Ahl al-Sunnah and Ahl al-Ḥadīth transmitted from a group among the early Jahmiyyah. This is the belief of most of the ascetic Jahmiyyah who claim that Allah, in His Essence, is everywhere.”
Reference: Majmūʿ al-Fatāwā 2/172
In Refutation of the Jahmiyyah
إن الذين نقلوا إجماع السلف أو إجماع أهل السنة أو إجماع الصحابة والتابعين على أن الله فوق العرش بائن من خلقه لا يحصيهم إلا الله، وما زال علماء السلف يثبتون المباينة ويردون قول الجهمية بنفيها.“Those who have transmitted the consensus of the Salaf, or the consensus of Ahl al-Sunnah, or the consensus of the Companions and the Tābiʿīn that Allah is above the Throne, distinct from His creation, are so numerous that only Allah can count them. The scholars of the Salaf have always affirmed this distinction and refuted the Jahmiyyah who deny it.”
Reference: Naqḍ Taʾsīs al-Jahmiyyah 2/531
The Categories of the Jahmiyyah
كذلك الجهمية على ثلاث درجات…“Likewise, the Jahmiyyah fall into three categories:
① The worst of them are the extremist Jahmiyyah who deny Allah’s Names and Attributes. Even if they refer to Him by one of His Beautiful Names, they claim it is metaphorical. In reality, according to them, He is neither living, nor knowing, nor powerful, nor hearing, nor seeing, nor speaking, nor does He speak.
② The second category consists of those influenced by the Muʿtazilah, who affirm Allah’s Names in general but deny His Attributes. They also do not affirm all of Allah’s Names in their literal sense, instead interpreting many of them metaphorically. These are the well-known Jahmiyyah.
③ The third category consists of those who affirm Allah’s Attributes in opposition to the Jahmiyyah, yet they still retain a form of Jahmī thought. They affirm Allah’s Names and Attributes in general, but reject some of His Names and His reported (khabariyyah) and non-reported Attributes, interpreting them just as the earlier Jahmiyyah interpreted all Attributes.”
Reference: al-Fatāwā al-Kubrā 8/389
The Position of the Salaf and the Imams
أما القسم الرابع: فهم سلف الأمة وأيمتها…“As for the fourth category, they are the Salaf of this Ummah and its Imams—the Imams of knowledge and religion from among the scholars and worshippers. They affirmed and believed in everything that came in the Book and the Sunnah, without distorting the words. They affirmed that Allah is above His heavens, established over His Throne, distinct from His creation; and that the creation is distinct from Him.
At the same time, Allah is with His servants: with all people by His knowledge, and with His Prophets and allies by His support, assistance, and care. He is also near and responsive. In the verse of private consultation (Qur’an 58:7), there is evidence that Allah has complete knowledge of His creation.
The Prophet ﷺ used to supplicate:
اللهم أنت الصاحب في السفر والخليفة في الأهل
‘O Allah! You are the Companion during travel and the Guardian over the family.’
Reference: Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 1362
Allah is with the traveler during his journey and with his family in his homeland, yet this does not necessitate that His Essence is mixed with theirs. Evidence for this is the statement of Allah:
محمد رسول الله والذين معه
‘Muḥammad is the Messenger of Allah, and those who are with him…’
Meaning: those who are with him in faith.”
Reference: Majmūʿ al-Fatāwā 5/231
Allah’s Exaltation Above the Creation
القول بأن الله تعالى فوق العالم معلوم بالاضطرار من الكتاب والسنة…“The belief that Allah is above the universe is known necessarily from the Qur’an, the Sunnah, and the consensus of the Salaf after due reflection—just as the knowledge of eating and drinking in Paradise is known, the sending of the Messengers, the revelation of the Books, Allah’s knowledge of everything, His power over all things, and His creation of the heavens and the earth and whatever lies between them. Rather, it has been said that the texts regarding Allah’s exaltedness exceed two hundred places, and the narrations from the Prophet ﷺ, the Companions, and the Tābiʿīn concerning this are mutawātir and in agreement.”
Reference: Darʾ Taʿāruḍ al-ʿAql wa al-Naql 7/26
Combining Allah’s Exaltation and His ‘Being With’ the Creation
قد دخل فيما ذكرناه من الإيمان بالله…“In what we have mentioned regarding belief in Allah is also belief in what Allah informed of in His Book, what is established mutawātir from His Messenger ﷺ, and what the Salaf of the Ummah unanimously agreed upon: that Allah is above His heavens, over His Throne, exalted above His creation; and that He is with the creation wherever they are, knowing what they do.
Allah combined these two matters in His statement:
هو الذي خلق السموات والأرض في ستة أيام ثم استوى على العرش يعلم ما يلج في الأرض وما يخرج منها وما ينزل من السماء وما يعرج فيها وهو معكم أينما كنتم والله بما تعملون بصير
‘He it is Who created the heavens and the earth in six days, then rose over the Throne. He knows what enters the earth and what emerges from it, what descends from the heaven and what ascends therein. And He is with you wherever you are, and Allah is All-Seeing of what you do.’
The meaning of His saying, ‘He is with you,’ is not that He is mixed with the creation, for this is neither required by the language nor consistent with the consensus of the Salaf of the Ummah or the natural disposition upon which Allah created mankind.”
Reference: Majmūʿ al-Fatāwā 3/177
Consensus of the Prophets and the Ummah
القول بأن الله فوق العرش، هو مما اتفقت عليه الأنبياء كلهم…“The belief that Allah is above the Throne is something upon which all the Prophets agreed. It was mentioned in every Book revealed to every Prophet sent. The Salaf of this Ummah and its Imams are also unanimously agreed upon it.”
Reference: Bayān Talbīs al-Jahmiyyah (also known as Naqḍ al-Taʾsīs) 2/9
